Boarding the Train
by flowinthestream12
Summary: How it would have been if Harry had died after defeating Voldemort. Ron and Hermione say 'goodbye' to their best friend. Canon pairings & deaths.
1. Fall of a Hero

Harry's body laid crumbled and broken beneath the curling dust. In one hand lied Draco Malfoy's wand and, in the other, the Elder Wand. At the opposite end of the Great Hall lied Lord Voldemort, just as lifeless as the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry's ears could not hear the hushed whispers of uncertainty and doubt nor the eruption of cheers when the spectators saw that their enemy was dead. His emerald eyes fixed skyward could see nothing at all.

_"It's done,"__ Harry said to Dumbledore, sitting together on that bench in Kings Cross Station. __"Voldemort's dead. Hermione and Ron'll have to decide what to do with the Elder Wand."_

_Dumbledore beamed at him, __"I am so proud of you, my boy. So, so proud."_

_"They'll hate me, won't they? They'll hate me for leaving ... for good?"__ Harry asked the professor._

_Dumbledore sighed and furrowed his brows as he laid a hand on Harry's boney shoulder, __"It'll take time for them to mourn your sacrifice. The loss of a loved one can take years to mend. In the case of your friends, your true family, it may take their lifetime."_

_"I don't want them to be sad,"__ Harry shook his head._

_Dumbledore rubbed that place on Harry's shoulder, __"They won't be forever, Harry. It's not really 'goodbye' after all."_

The cries of despair from Hermione, Ginny, and McGonagall were the most shrill. Ron reached Harry's side first, searching feverishly for a beat of life beneath his best mate's skin. Hermione scrambled to his other side while the crowd closed in on them ... leaving Voldemort alone to decompose.

"Is he alright?" Hermione stammered, cupping Harry's thin face with her dirty hands.

There Ron sat in silence at Harry's side, staring down at him just as blindly as those green eyes bore into the sunlight now breaking through the overcast clouds. Then his body began to tremble.

Ron roared at the beaming sun, "NO!"

The whole Great Hall was silent, his roar echoing in all their hearts. Hermione shook her head and scooped Harry's torso into her arms, rocking forward and back, "No! Harry! Harry, can you hear me? Harry! It's gonna be okay! It's gonna be okay! HARRY! _Please_, wake-up!"

All the remaining Weasleys fell to their knees around Harry. Ginny cried at Harry's feet, her tears dripping onto his battered trainers. The crowd of witches and wizards surrounding them, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and graduates alike knelt to the ground in a rippling motion. One by one, they bowed before the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, who had sacrificed everything for them.

Even those whom he didn't know. He put their lives before his.


	2. Letting Go

Two days later, the funeral was finally upon them. There were several burials being held throughout the country for other fallen witches and wizards. This one, however, was the most important. Harry's body was only allowed to be viewed by a select few people. Many, including Ginny Weasley, could not face the shock of seeing his dead body anymore.

Ron understood and did not resent his little sister for it whatsoever, for he had considered not attending the viewing. But, with sensitive convincing from Hermione, he knew he would regret not paying his respects to his fallen best friend in the world. Ron was wearing a set of black dress robes of his brother, Bill, for his own couldn't fit anymore. His red hair was combed neatly and he was freshly showered. After nearly a year of poor hygiene and neglected maintenance, Ron was shocked by how he hardly recognized his own reflection after bathing and shaving his face.

Ron had to shake himself a few times of his nerves as he made his way through the castle to where Harry's body was secretly being stored before burial. Hermione was already sitting on a bench outside the door. The pair of them were alone by request. Ron simply stared at the wooden door, knowing that Harry was behind it. Hermione watched him tentatively as he bowed his head, closing his watering blue eyes.

Hermione tilted her head, "Are you sure you don't want me to go with you?"

Setting his jaw, Ron lifted his head and pushed the door inward, saying more to himself than replying to her, "I can do this."

Hermione flinched when the door closed behind Ron. The room was freshly dusted and swept. There were no paintings hanging on the stone walls, the better to keep the location a secret from curious survivors. At the center of the room ... was the casket. One side was left open, but, since the coffin was raised on a platform with a small set of stairs, Ron couldn't see Harry till he was much closer.

Ron forced a small grin as though he wanted to hide how hurt he was from Harry.

But, his blue eyes twinkled in the betraying welling tears he was fighting hard to suppress, "H-Hey, m-mate." He cleared his dry throat, "It's Ron."

Harry had been cleaned as well as the coroners could manage. The Boy Who Lived had a very tumultuous final year. Over their travels, what little fat Harry had was stripped from him, leaving very little flesh to spare. The coroners had cut his hair, which had grown to his shoulders by the time they were taken to the Malfoy Manor. But, Harry's raven locks still stood erect, too stubborn for even death itself to flatten.

His skin was left white as snow, his black brows, long dark lashes curling against his circular glasses, and his pink lips highlighted by it naturally. Ron extended his hand down to touch Harry's face. He didn't know what to expect for he had only touched a dead person once before. When he had held Fred's body, Fred had only been dead for about an hour. It has been two days since Harry's assassination. Fred's funeral was to be held back at home.

Fred had still been limp and lifelike enough to pass for sleeping, anything to help ease Ron's shock. But, when his fingertips made contact with Harry's very hollow cheek, he jerked his hand away with a frightened _gasp_.

"_Huh_?" Ron breathed, staring at his large hand.

How stiff Harry's skin had become, cold and hard as ice. Ron's lips trembled as he knelt down on one knee respectfully at the marble steps, his head tilted at a diagonal as his eyes reddened at the sight of his best friend lying in a coffin.

"Hermione wanted to come with," Ron told Harry's body, his voice cracking horribly at his attempt to sound casual, "But, I figured we needed some, you know, man-to-man time. Just for a minute."

He couldn't keep his composure any longer. Choked, blubbering sobs gushed forth from his mouth, slick from tears and dripping nose. They echoed around the ancient room.

He took a great sniffle, "I haven't lost _one_ brother ... you know that, right? I've lost _two_."

Harry's face remained perfectly still, Ron's grief wishing beyond sanity that Harry's emerald eyes would blink back at him with a sassy remark.

The fact that he'd never hear Harry's voice again inspired more tears to cascade down Ron's thin face, "You're the second that I'm talking about, in case I wasn't clear all these bloody years. Fred, if you're up there with Harry, give him a whack upside the head for me, alright?"

Hermione peaked her head around the heavy wooden door, having been listening to his throaty sobs. Ginny had helped her tame her hair into a tight bun that almost resembled McGonagall's. Her face was left clean of make-up. Her brown eyes were puffy and red, a tissue was clasped in her hand. She was wearing a black dress, the hem of which swept the ground, and heeled black shoes.

She touched her reddened nose to the back of her wrist and sniffled, unintentionally announcing herself. Ron could hear her shoes clacking against the stone floor as she crossed the space between them, but, he didn't meet her eyes till she laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm almost ready, honey." Ron told her thickly, taking the fresh tissue she offered him.

Hermione ran her hand along his boney shoulders, padded by his funeral robes, "Take your time."

Hermione tilted her head as she gazed upon Harry, simultaneously fishing inside her drawstring pouch dangling by her hip. Ron watched her pull out the first golden snitch Harry had won a little more than seven years ago. Hermione cupped it in both of her hands, holding it over her heart.

A lone tear dripped down her cheek as she told Harry, "We wish you were here, Harry. We miss you so ... so ... _so _much."

She kissed her knuckles encasing the snitch before forcing it beneath Harry's hands folded on top of one another. Hermione knew that it was death that pressed Harry's cold hands onto hers as she slid her hands out. But, it still was too much for her. Reminding herself that he could never hold her hand again, Hermione choked on a sob. Ron got to his feet, pulling her to his chest and tucking her head beneath his chin.

"He was old before his time," Hermione cried quietly, trying not to soil Ron's dress shirt. "It wasn't fair."

Ron nodded, pressing his cheek to the top of Hermione's head and swaying them where he hugged her, "We should give other people the chance, you know, to say 'goodbye'."

Hermione smiled woefully up at him, "Just wait a moment." She left Ron's arms and walked up the steps to lean over Harry's body, whispering as she placed her forehead against his, "Goodbye, Harry."

Ron bowed his head as Hermione lightly kissed Harry's sunken cheek.

Hermione let her hand slide along his sharp jaw as she straightened up, "He's with his parents and Sirius now."

Ron nodded as she stepped down, standing aside for him to step up. Ron was so tall he only had to lift his leg a bit to place it on the top step.

Ron gripped the sidebar of the casket and reluctantly encompassed both of Harry's hands beneath his big hand, "See you later, mate ... you're going to have to wait a while," Hermione furrowed her brows, but, she melted to a smile as Ron elaborated, "Don't worry about us. It hurts, what you did. Never thought it would hurt this bad. But, we understand it was to save us. It's going to be hard, but, don't worry. We'll meet again. Fred'll keep you entertained till the time comes."

Hermione beamed up at him and took Ron's hand when he extended it out for her. Ron wrapped that arm around her little shoulders without breaking their handhold and steered her away from the casket. Just before they left the room, the two waved at Harry. After the viewing, the body would be transported to Godric's Hallow where he could be laid to rest between James and Lily Potter.


End file.
